Kettle Slow to Boil for British Steam Car

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Kettle Slow to Boil for British Steam Car

The British Steam Car during a test in April.

The British Steam Car team has had a rough month in the Southern California desert, where scorching heat and mechanical problems have stymied the effort to topple a speed record that has stood for 103 years.

In the weeks since the crew and the car arrived at Edwards Air Force Base on June 29, mechanical gremlins and Mother Nature have tried the team's patience but not dampened its enthusiasm. It's full steam ahead, so to speak, as the team prepares to set a new record for a steam-powered car.

"The team is working tirelessly to get the British Steam Car ready for its attempt," according to a press release issued today. The first attempt could come as early as Wednesday.

The campaign continues a British tradition for speed that dates from the 1920s and ’30s, when Sir Malcolm Campbell set several records on land and sea. Speed is a relative term in a steam-powered car. The goal is to achieve 170 mph, which would easily surpass the official record of 127.659 mph that Fred Marriott set in 1906 behind the wheel of a Stanley Steamer Rocket. Although a car called the Steamin’ Demon achieved 145.607 during a run in 1985, it isn’t recognized by the Federation International de l’Automobile, the worldwide sanctioning body of motor sports.

Team Steam set up its base camp without any trouble, but after unpacking the 25-foot car – christened Inspiration – mechanics discovered that a load sensor in one of the car's tanks broke in transit. The car also had a faulty water filter, which wasn't the first time that problem's popped up. Both problems were repaired.

It gets damn hot in the Mojave, with temperatures regularly passing the century mark. That limits the amount of time the team can work on the car, so everyone's up by 5 a.m. and works until 10 a.m. or so. The heat has played havoc with the fueling rigs, a problem that wasn't overcome until July 17. At that point the team made two static tests of the car's massive drivetrain, but within days two of the car's 12 boilers failed and had to be replaced.

Inspiration uses liquefied petroleum gas and a dozen microboilers to generate the 3 megawatts of heat needed to create a steam temperature of 750 degrees Fahrenheit. The steam flows through 1.86 miles – yes, you read that right – of tubing and several giant valves to a two-stage turbine. The turbine spins at 13,000 rpm and drives the rear wheels. The system can turn 10.5 gallons of water a minute into steam at 40 times atmospheric pressure.

The Guardian notes the car can produce enough steam to brew 23 cups of tea per second. That would warm the hearts and everything else of a stadium full of racing fans back in the chilly homeland.

Although the heat has been a problem, the altitude – 2,383 feet – is working in the team's favor.

"The early indications are that the car is producing more steam due to the altitude at Edwards and the high temperatures," driver Don Wales, grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell, told the Guardian. "It means that there's a bit more power and hopefully a bit more mph once we get running."

We know the car works – up to 80 mph, at least – because the team made several test runs before heading to America. The team says both the Southern California Timing Association and Federation Internationale d' Automobile have inspected Inspiration. The car fits into the SCTA's "omega" class, which includes vehicles that run on a thermodynamic cycle other than the Otto cycle. The body class for Inspiration is "special construction," which the SCTA calls "the pinnacle of the straightaway racer's art."

"The SCTA has completed several physical inspections of this vehicle while under construction both in England and most recently at Edwards Air Force base and has found the vehicle to meet or exceed our minimum safety standards," David Petrali, vice president of testing operations for the SCTA, told Wired.com. "Both the 'engine' and body class are within our guidelines (unlimited) for an omega class streamliner. Although the Steam Car will not be competing at one of our sanctioned events (Bonneville or El Mirage) the team has gone the extra mile by preparing the vehicle to our highest standards."

The team says timekeepers have been booked from Wednesday through Aug. 4, which means Marriott's record could fall any day now. We'll keep you posted.

POST UPDATED 3:30 p.m. July 29 to include comment from the Southern California Timing Association.